Novak Djokovic hopes to maintain his recent rivalry with Andy Murray for the foreseeable future so it can perhaps one day rival the more recognised and renowned one between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.
Djokovic and Great Britain’s Murray have contested the last two Grand Slam finals either side of the turn of the year. — Getty Images file
The Serbian world number one and Great Britain’s Murray have contested the last two Grand Slam finals either side of the turn of the year, with the Scot’s victory in New York swiftly avenged by Djokovic in Melbourne last month.
Djokovic brothers exit Novak Djokovic’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship campaign got off on a losing note here on Monday with a first-round defeat alongside his brother Marko in the doubles over on a packed Court One. The Djokovic siblings took the first set 6-4 against the experienced Belgian-Russian duo of Dick Norman and Nikolay Davydenko, only to lose the subsequent second 6-4 and the champion’s tie-break 10-4 thereafter. Elsewhere, over on Court Three, the first-seeded Spanish pairing of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez cruised through to a straight-sets success over Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and David Goffin, of Belgium, 6-4, 6-1. — Alex Leach |
That finals-day dominance has led some to speculate that these two 25-year-olds are the new powerbrokers in men’s tennis, with Murray Djokovic’s nearest challenger and threat as opposed to an ageing Federer and an injury-prone Nadal.
Djokovic himself though refuses to separate Murray from either Federer or Nadal and he insists their competitive clashes have a long way to go still before they can match those between the Spaniard and the Swiss.
“I cannot pick him (Murray) over Roger and Rafa because all three of them are still my biggest rivals and I cannot pick one of those three guys,” the three-time Australian Open champion said.
“Roger and Rafa have been so dominant in our sport and they have still – from all of the active players – the biggest rivalry. Andy and I have played a lot of great matches in the last 15 months and – hopefully – we can maintain this high level of excitement and tough matches when we’re playing and develop this rivalry in years to come.”
There won’t be a renewal of hostilities in the emirate however, with last year’s Dubai runner-up Murray opting instead to prepare for the onset of the American hard-court season at Indian Wells and Miami next month.
alex@khaleejtimes.com